FROM THE TRENCHES Issue №288

Practical decisions for AI and software

Technical guides to choose models, verify software and plan delivery.

Latest articles

New comparisons, practical guides and engineering lessons.

ChatGPT Enterprise, Microsoft Copilot and a custom RAG build compared for a DACH company AI & Agents

ChatGPT Enterprise vs Copilot vs Custom RAG

Which should a DACH company shortlist? A neutral procurement guide to workflow fit, product terms, location controls, permissions, compliance roles, and total operating cost.

Where your AI data is stored and processed across EU residency options Business & Regulation

EU Data Residency for AI APIs in 2026: Provider Guide

Compare EU storage and inference guarantees across OpenAI, Azure, Mistral, AWS and self-hosting. Current endpoints, transfer caveats and a procurement checklist.

Security, IP and investor-readiness due diligence for apps built with Lovable, Bolt and Replit Delivery & QA

Lovable, Bolt, and Replit App Due Diligence

Before you raise or sell on a vibe-coded app, three questions decide whether it survives diligence: is it safe, do you own it, can anyone maintain it? The security, IP, and investor checklist.

Austrian AI funding: dated programme status, grants, financing and research tax credit Business & Regulation

AI Funding Austria 2026: Open Calls, FFG and Tax Credit

AI funding in Austria, checked 5 October 2026: open FFG routes, closed aws calls, KMU.DIGITAL ending and the 14% research premium.

How to roll out AI internally in 2026 without shelfware Leadership & Teams

How to Roll Out AI Internally in 2026

A staged internal AI rollout: align the team, map the process and alternatives, define a baseline, settle data and risk questions, pilot one bounded workflow, then expand or stop on evidence.

MCP, RAG, Agent Skills and Custom GPTs compared as layers of one AI system AI & Agents

MCP vs RAG vs Agent Skills vs Custom GPTs

Not four answers to one question, but four layers: RAG for knowledge, MCP for connectivity, Skills for procedure, Custom GPTs as a packaged surface. A decision tree, and why you usually compose them.

Fractional CTPO vs a fractional CTO and CPO Leadership & Teams

Fractional CTPO vs CTO and CPO

When one combined product-and-technology lead can reduce handoffs, when to split the remit, and how to assess capacity, independence, decision rights, and continuity without a fixed team-size rule.

Technical due diligence checklist for an AI MVP before a funding round Product & MVP

Technical Due Diligence for AI MVPs Before Funding

A practical evidence-room checklist: evaluation design, serving configuration, task-level economics, privacy, security, data rights, and the artifacts a reviewer can test.

The vibe-code production-readiness checklist Delivery & QA

The Vibe-Code Production-Readiness Checklist

A scannable first-pass checklist for AI-assisted apps before real users touch them. Ten evidence areas, plus risk-based launch triage and the limits of a generic checklist.

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